A central Ontario hunter was fined $6,000 for possessing copied (counterfeit) deer tags and hunting deer without a licence.
Justice of the Peace Roger King heard the case against Ernie Coulas of Combermere in the Ontario Court of Justice, Belleville, on Aug. 28, 2023.
The court heard that on Nov. 14, 2022, a conservation officer conducting a vehicle patrol in Bangor Township, Hastings County contacted Coulas at a hunt camp, where he claimed to be wolf hunting.
The officers determined Coulas was in possession of a 2022 deer tag which wasn’t produced for inspection. Through further investigation, the officer found that Coulas had already used his deer tag earlier in the season. That tag was recovered from a butcher shop. Coulas was also found to be in possession of two copies of a deer tag – one he had made the morning before going hunting and had with him, and the other he stored at his residence. In addition to the tag violations, Coulas was also found to be deer hunting without a licence.
GREAT job done by our Ontario DNR. Its too bad that a few can still negatively effect the rest of us and those upcoming, that thoroughly enjoy our Great Outdoors.
A crime was committed. The only spot that troubles me is a fine for having a copy of a tag. My tag was inadvertently not printed and I had to go to my local retailer to get a Duplicate Tag. Cost was ten dollars. I do see the advantage to photocopying a tag to insure the one carried is legible and legal.